I'd rather be having a quiet drink... and can be followed on Twitter @alcothusiast; and friended on Untappd (handle: "neilcake" - all welcome).

Tuesday, 11 November 2014

Spirit Log: Martell VS, or How to make a post out of uh... verylittle.

Brandy! It’s not as
good as whisky is it? It’s not. It’s nice and all, and probably easier on the
palate, but that’s why it comes up short when you compare it with a nice
whisky. I do like it though, and its status as a must-have spirit in my house
remains unthreatened with a view perhaps to one day finding a great one. Is
there such thing as a great one? And more importantly, can you get a great one
at an affordable price (as you can with wihsky)? That’s what I’m asking this
week as I look at a low cost Cognac, Martell VS.

"fine" cognac? Or simply "all right" cognac?

At least, that was
the plan as, when I looked at my notes I found I’d made very few. When I cast
my mind back and tried to pull impressions from my memory… I hardly remembered
drinking this bottle at all. What happened? It’s like some aliens have stolen
three months of my life. I can’t remember a single specific instance of
drinking it – how did I get through a whole bottle without it leaving a single
impression one way or the other?

I do know that there
were some pounds off this one (six), making it an overdraft friendly £25. I
ruminated at the time that you can’t get a great single malt scotch for £25 as a rule, but that from time to time
you can – I’ve picked up the Highland Park 12, Talisker 10 and Glenmorangie 10
at this price point before, so I had been hoping to draw some conclusions as to
how this measured up.

Based on previous
experience, my expectations were fairly low. Cognac is generally known to be
expensive and the ones at the cheaper end of the spectrum thought to be poor –
as borne out by the Courvoisier VSOP I bought some time ago, also for £25.

So what else do we
know? I remember that the bottle was uninteresting aesthetically, that it was
40% ABV and that I had found from research that it is thought to be aged for
between 5 and 7 years. So far, so particularly dull. I did read some good
comments from user reviews online but clearly they didn’t inspire any
particular impressions from me. Finally, in my simple “like?” column on my
geeky spreadsheet, I have entered “yes”. That doesn’t really mean much where
brandy is concerned as it’s all kind of all right, isn’t it?

So there you go. I
hope you weren’t hoping for some in depth insight. I could make some up, but it
wouldn’t be fair either to you or the product. And in the end, I think the lack
of an impression it made tells its own story. Drinking the Martell VS has
ultimately turned out to be the liquid equivalent of getting home drunk and
watching your favourite TV show on the TV recorder, then deleting it… then
waking up the next day, thinking “ooh,
I’ve got that show to watch… where is it?” You’ve already watched and
deleted it. It’s like that.

How is that supposed
to help you? Well, if you’re going to buy it, don’t expect much.

Calvados is indeed on my radar though I haven't gone so far as to invest in a bottle yet. That day no doubt grows ever closer.

Just as a spoiler for future posts; I think I might have found a great and reasonably priced brandy. It is actually German, and goes by the name of Asbach Urbrand. More on that in the fullness of time.

Thanks for visiting and reading, and thanks especially for leaving some interesting comments!

Definitions

What happens when you zone out after having had a cheeky lunchtime pint.

Alcothusiast:

Not an alcoholic, someone who appreciates booze.

Anxiety, The:

The uneasy feeling that accompanies any noteworthy hangover.

Booze Buffet Mentality:

The propensity people have to go nuts whenever there's a free bar.

Booze Porn:Photos of alcohol.

Bread Chest:Not booze related, but this term describes the indigestion you get from eating too many bread products too quickly. Just putting it out there...

Crawler's Block:The inability to decide where to go next during a pub crawl - often resulting in crawl stagnation and someone saying, "shall we just have another one here?"

Crawl Stagnation:The result of failing to plan a pub crawl sufficiently - lack of a route, theme or over-familiarity with nearby pubs can all be contributing factors.

Excess Induced Alcohol Aversion:An intolerance for a drink caused (usually) by one occasion of overindulgence.

The Family:My whisky collection.

MOMA:

Moment of Maximum Appreciation. Every bottle has one. It's the time you drink it where you enjoy it most.

Old Man Pub:Traditional British pub, renowned for being quiet, cosy and frequented by old men. Much favoured by people who like a nice chat while they drink.Psychological Drinks Cabinet:Collective term relating to the kinds of alcoholic drinks a person has need for.Road Beers:

Cans of beer that you take with you when you go out, to consume on the way.

The 3 Types of Rum:White, gold and dark. Together they form the base of many a great cocktail.

About Me

Neil Cake is interested in all types of booze, but is by no means an authority or expert. Most of the time he's just trying to be funny, but he is learning, and enjoys sharing his adventures and what he learns on the Drink it How You Like it blog.
Thengyuverrymuuuuuch.